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What Does This Mean For Me?

As I shared last week, the Nier household has been in full-on celebration mode. The Nier children have completed the first week at schools they didn't think they'd be attending. We are not moving from a house we thought for sure we'd be selling. And my wife is happily getting settled in at her new job.

Many congratulations were given (thanks, friends!) but several asked me the inevitable question.

So what does this mean for you?

Believe me, that is a question I have been asking myself since I first announced I was resigning. And since June, the question has loomed like a large cloud over every one of my days.

From certain people, I could hear the questions they were perhaps too afraid to ask out loud. Are you trained to do anything besides play with teens and work one day a week? I write that, tongue planted in cheek, but don't be fooled. I've asked it of myself. What does a guy, who has only ever wanted to be a youth pastor, do when he is no longer a youth pastor?

What does this mean for me? When I first resigned my position, people asked if I'd be looking for a senior pastor position somewhere. I scoffed and said I would never turn to the dark side (with apologies to all my senior pastor friends). I have been and remain of the mindset that youth ministry is a specialty ministry that is still very much needed. I believe we need mature (insert your own joke here) and experienced youth pastors (read: in their 40's and older) who still love teenagers enough to continue on.

I thought for sure, seeing hundreds of churches looking for youth pastors, that I would be employed in this area before the summer was over. But now we all know that didn't happen.

Now that my wife is employed (at a church), what does this mean for me? What does this mean for my own calling? Was I hearing God incorrectly? Did I misunderstand?

While I clearly have stopped looking for paid youth ministry positions around the country, I won't stop being involved in youth ministry. Every healthy youth ministry has volunteers, and as I encouraged my own volunteers through the years, what they do has incredible impact.

I said when I stepped out in faith to look for a new job, that I was practicing what I had preached. I will do the same in this area, and volunteer where I worship.

Make no mistake, I still need to find something to do during the week for someone who will trade me income for services rendered. The wife doesn't want a house-husband. I think that's mostly because I don't fold the towels properly, or something like that.

So I am still praying for what's next. I am encouraging anyone who will listen to do the same. And not just about me. There are things going on in your life.

Transitions. Questions. Direction change. A call to be involved and serve. A desire to renew connections. Perhaps even a pause to remember what makes you tick and renews your strength.

So what does this mean for you?
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